Students Release 2014 Provincial Budget Submission, Call for Fairer Higher Education System

TORONTO, Jan. 21, 2014 /CNW/ - The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) is proud to announce the release of its 2014 Ontario Budget submission, Education Works: Envisioning a Fairer Society for Ontario's Youth. In their submission, students make a number of recommendations aimed at improving the effectiveness of Ontario's student financial assistance system, expanding co-operative education opportunities, and encouraging and supporting high quality teaching staff at Ontario's universities.

"In Ontario's 2013 Throne Speech, Premier Wynne committed the Province to building a strong economy and fairer society for Ontarians," said Amir Eftekarpour, OUSA President and Vice-President External of the University Students' Council at Western University (USC). "Increasing equality of access to post-secondary education is the best way to attain this goal. Higher education benefits not only students themselves, but Ontario's economy and society as a whole."

To ensure that the Province's investment in financial assistance is reaching those students with the highest need, students recommend that the government redirect funding for tuition and education tax credits to existing grant and loan programs that provide more targeted, timely and effective assistance for students.

Students' other recommendations look at how the Province can enhance student's post-graduate employment prospects, as well as the quality of university education in Ontario.

"Students believe that the Province has a role to play in supporting the growth of co-op opportunities in non-traditional academic programs, as well as encouraging the growth of teaching-focused faculty positions within our institutions," said Roland Erman, OUSA Steering Committee Member and Vice-President University Affairs for the Brock University Students' Union (BUSU). "Students are confident that investments that support the success of university graduates represent educated solutions to addressing social and labour inequalities for youth in Ontario."

To read OUSA's 2014 Ontario Budget Submission, Education Works: Envisioning a Fairer Society for Ontario's Youth, click here.

About the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA)

OUSA represents the interests of over 140,000 professional and undergraduate, full- and part-time university students at eight member associations across Ontario.

SOURCE: Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance

For further information or to arrange an interview, please contact Brandon Sloan, Director of Communications., W:www.ousa.ca, T: [phone], E: [email protected], Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/educatedsolutions, Twitter:@OUSA (https://twitter.com/OUSA)